An apt choice of vocabulary, clamor. It almost doesn't do the din justice. A sea of teens huddle around octagonal tables, no more than eight per little island. A line leads into what appears to be the kitchen, and kids come out the other side with green or gray lunch trays full of food. A few of the tables remain unoccupied, though not many. A quick look through the cafeteria leaves me without any recognizable faces, so I set toward a lonesome space. The wall next to the kitchen is lined with stacks of basic black plastic chairs; I pull one from a column and bring it to my table.
Mid-bite into my sandwich (ham, turkey, and provolone cheese), three trays slide onto the tabletop. A voice rings out amongst them as they bring their own chairs.
"Would you take a look at that," Timbo says to the others, slapping on an accent that screams Good-Ole-Country-Boy. "We found us one of them fancy New Kids you hear about on the TV!"
"Dang howdy, ain't we lucky as pie!" Leah giggles, following along with her own Southern accent.
"You guys are dorks," Elliot breathes out a smile as they all sit down.
"We all get lunch together?" I say after swallowing. "That's cool!"
"Probably just for today," Timbo says as he de-buns one of his two burgers. He slaps the meat and cheese onto its twin to make a double burger, and part of me wishes I had some money to get one too.
"Why's that?" I ask before another bite.
"Lunch time is based on what class you have for third period," he says, his mouth full.
"Manners, dude," Leah smacks his chest with a sharp gaze. "Swallow, then talk, doofus."
"Sorry," he smiles at her, not heeding her advice either out of humorous spite or playful ignorance.
"Guess we'll find out tomorrow," I shrug.
We fall quiet for a bit as we all dig in. Timbo takes huge chunks out of his double burger. Leah takes understandably smaller bites. Elliot works away at her salad. Much like our trip to Rose's Diner, we are too distracted by our food to make much conversation. (Also, I, for one, do not want Leah chastising me for talking with food in my mouth.)
"How's your first day been so far, Ash?" Elliot asks, gathering a sporkful of lettuce and other veggies. "Not too traumatizing, I hope."
"No swirlies or kick-me signs yet," I say, taking a moment to wash down my sandwich with some Coke. "So pretty good, can't complain."
"If anyone gives you any shit, just let me know," Timbo tells me. Leah rolls her eyes at his continued disregard for her lesson in manners.
"Made any new friends?" Elliot follows up.
"Still a little early on that, I think," I reply, folding the aluminum can in half and stuffing it inside the plastic sandwich bag. "Turns out one of my locker neighbors is Sera. The girl from the bonfire and at Rose's."
"Well that's neat," Elliot notes with little enthusiasm. "You two talk much so far?"
"I mean, a little, but not really," I tell her.
"Don't mind Ell, Ash," Leah cuts in. "She's just a little salty."
"Mmmm," Timbo sounds, his cheeks puffed out with the last huge bite of his burger. "A little more than salty, methinks."
"Why's that?" I ask Elliot.
Her face flushes with a breath of red. Her sporkless hand rises to hide her face, buries the blush in her palm. She shakes her head lightly, out of either humiliation or denial.
YOU ARE READING
Incinerate
ParanormalWhen Ash Woodward moves to a new town before the beginning of the school year, he makes it his goal to befriend anti-social track star Sera von Abaddon. As Ash traverses his new life with his new friends, mysteries arise as to who Sera truly is. But...
